Box Elder Wildfire is 70% Contained

August 13, 2008

A wildfire burning in northern Utah is expected to be contained by the end of the week.

The Devil’s fire has been pushed by strong winds, but firefighters have managed to get on top of it. By Tuesday, the 1,588- acre fire burning in Box Elder County was declared about 70 percent contained.

“The weather’s been a lot better,” said LaCee Bartholomew with the Bureau of Land Management.

The fire is expected to be contained by Thursday. It was sparked Sunday by lightning storms that moved over the area.

Across the state, firefighters continue to clean up blazes. Crews expect full containment within 15 days on the Little Bald Mountain fire burning in Tooele County’s Stansbury Mountains. The fire was sparked July 31 by lightning and has closed several canyons and campgrounds.

In southern Utah, crews are monitoring a small wildfire burning in Zion National Park in the Kolob Canyons area. Because it is inaccessible, the National Park Service said firefighters are watching it to ensure it does not go out of park boundaries.